Where Worlds Sleep
by Honore - Form. MerlintoVivian
Summary: Where The Key to Ecstasy is Rewriting a Bird's Song across Joyful Plains under a Starry Sky...
1. Prologue: Of School Legends

It was a typical school day.

By "typical": I mean no operations, no sudden twists or that odd sudden-conversation-out-of-the-blue.

"Hey Otonashi, have you ever heard of the legend of the girl in the sky?"

I guess I was hoping too much.

"Girl in the sky? Is that some sort of school legend?", I asked tentatively.

Yes, apparently here in the "Afterlife", where people apparently go to after they die, and where people apparently spend their "lives" waiting for redemption, etc. etc.; here, where a school was created probably just for this purpose.

I'd assume one "moved on" if one graduated, although judging by Iwasawa-san's case, that was not always true.

"Oi, Otonashi, are you listening to me?"

And apparently like all schools, they each had their quirks. As I discovered just now, it even has its own school legend.

Damn, how many "apparentlies" had that been?

"Why do you look so angry?", asked Hinata, a close companion of mine in the Afterlife War Front.

He was peering at me with concern. I waved it off and said, "So? Is that one of the school's 'seven legends'? Is there a bit about rooftop or bathroom spectres?"

"That's ultra-scary! No, this particular legend is about a man in the sky."

That's it. I really have my suspicions about this guy.

"You said before it was a girl in the sky. Are you-"

Flustered, Hinata replied violently in my face, "No way! That was just a Freudian slip just then!"

Do you even know what a Freudian slip is?

"What can you tell me about this legend?"

In this crazy world, things like bathroom ghosts and other strange phenomena would actually be possible, with us having the ability to make anything out of dirt and the existence of a certain "Angel" with unusual, superhuman powers - among other bizarre things.

On that note, I wonder where the latter is?

"Yeah, you might think it's weird, but this place does adhere to its own rules, and I think that one of those rules might the existence of school legends. I only heard this yesterday, from one of the NPCs.

"It kind of freaked me out a bit, knowing how this world works, and it got me thinking: if this kind of phenomenon is a rule, then there might be a real 'girl in the sky' to back the legend up, right here in this world."

"Again, what is this legend about?"

"Well," Hinata looked around furtively at the NPCs walking the corridor around us, "there are times when people, and I mean the NPCs, have taken to eating lunch on the rooftop of the school. In all the hubbub, it could be lost, but when one or two would only be there, sometimes a girl's voice could be heard, carried by the wind. It would be a sad, singing voice, and it would freeze those who heard it in place. And then, just when the song reaches its climax..."

Hinata fell silent as I hung on his every word. He made a grunt, and shrugged, prompting me to shoot him a questioning look.

"A flap of wings would be heard, and those people would not be heard from again."

There was silence, except for the ambient sounds of the NPCs around us.

"...So, if those NPCs wouldn't be heard from ever again, then - "

Suddenly, the guy burst out laughing, clapping me fiercely on the shoulder. I stood dumbfounded for just a moment before I understood it all.

So it was all a joke?

"You should have seen the look on your face! Hanging on every word!"

I gave him a tired look and asked, "So the legend wasn't real?"

The guy paused in his laughter enough to say, "No it was, but MAN! The way you were listening, I just..."

"Yeah yeah, very funny, I'm sure that the others would love to hear all about this."

I started to walk down the corridor, leaving the idiot to laugh his heart out in the middle of it. I so wanted to hit him, but I decided against it.

The NPCs wouldn't take notice of him, instead going about their normal school life, another trait of this world.

Figures, I should've known I'd be fooled so easily - I've even been a victim of my own imagination many times before! Damn that Hinata...

Of course, I didn't know that this event would "flag" me for some very much strange and bizarre events much, much later.

If I'd known I would be involved in such events, risking my "life" plenty of times and introducing me to even more bizarre characters in this bizarre world, I would have put my bizarre curiosity aside and stopped myself from bizarrely ever asking Hinata about the bizarre legend entirely.

...

Argh, again...


	2. 01: Otonashi's Secret Mission

"What? Yurippe, you trusting this guy above me?"

Noda, whom one can describe as an antiquated Royal Guard in a school uniform, swung his keening halberd in my direction, almost lopping off Oyama's terrified head in the process.

"What, I picked Otonashi-kun precisely because of the nature of this mission," Yurippe, the able leader of the Afterlife War Front, replied coolly as she reclined in her chair, adjusting her white beret as she shifted.

"Are you saying this weak-looking guy is much stronger than me? A guy who hasn't even proven his strength?" If glares could emit high-pulse lasers, I would've been obliterated by that guy's right now.

"Calm down fool, you haven't even heard what the mission is about, yet."

The birds were quite calm this morning - I could hear them clearly in the silence that followed.

"Idiot," someone in the room muttered softly.

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING AN IDIOT?", Noda demanded, swinging his halberd around again and causing Takamatsu to duck.

"Obviously you, since you reacted so strongly just now when all we just heard from

Yurippe was 'Otonashi-kun, I have a mission for you',"Hinata, who was sitting on the sofa beside me, quipped.

"What did you say?" The idiot gripped the weapon tighter.

Matsushita, known to the Front as Matsushita 5-dan, restrained the rampaging Noda in an armlock and asked Yuri, "He does have a point, Yurippe. Why was he specifically called out at the start for this mission?"

"Like I said," Yuri sighed as she clasped her hands in front of her, "It's because of the nature of this mission."

The light in the room dimmed as the curtains were closed. The usual briefing screen now lit up behind Yuri's chair, briefly displaying the Afterlife War Front's insignia.

"Due to the delicate nature of this mission, I have decided to let this be Otonashi-kun's responsibility as a member of the War Front." I could feel everyone's eyes on me.

"But what is it about this mission that requires me specifically?" I asked Yuri.

"Everyone, have you heard about the legends of this school?"

I felt a rising surge of annoyance before Yuri could even finish her sentence. Slowly, I turned my head to look at Hinata beside me, who was keeping a straight face as he returned my questioning look.

"You..."

"Honest, it wasn't me really!"

I was suddenly feeling so tired even though it was early in the morning.

"Oh, you're talking about the legend of the Giant Phantom!" I turned my questioning gaze from Hinata to Oyama, who'd just said that.

"Oooh, I haven't heard of that one."

"Or about the Monstrous Diva?"

"The Orbs at Night?"

"How does that go?"

"...well, late at night, when the sky is especially clear..."

"Total eclipse of the heart..."

"Hold on," I said loudly to catch everyone's attention, "you mean those legends do exist?

And that there're many of them?" I glanced at Hinata. So the guy hadn't been kidding around?

Takamatsu adjusted his glasses and nodded. "Like the past world, this one also follows its own set of rules. One of the secret conditions for this school to be as authentic as  
possible is the inclusion of 'school legends'. So yes, they do exist - little rumors spread among the NPCs that eventually find their way to us in the Front."

Well, I'd already assumed most of what he said, but there was no harm in confirming.

Then again, if this was another of Hinata's pranks...I thought to myself when I glanced at the guy in question again.

"The existence of these legends," Yuri's clear voice resonated through the room, "serves as another one of the little details this world made up. It gives off the illusion of mystery, and is probably another stepping stone to fulfillment.

"Which we in the Front," Yuri concluded, "want to avert." She turned her gaze toward me again. "While our priority is to continue our war against God, I feel that it is also necessary to investigate certain aspects of this world so that we can gain some understanding of how it works. It is to that end that I have chosen you, Otonashi-kun, to undertake this investigation."

"I understand...", I mumbled slowly. I had a lot of questions in my mind, but I decided to wait until her little speech was over.

"This is an informal mission, and is to remain a secret among the people in this room. I expect you all to help Otonashi-kun in any way you can in this investigation. To help facilitate this process, I have prepared this." She handed me a calling card of sorts. On one side was the Front's logo, and on the other was...my picture, and a little sign at the side that read, "Authorized to conscript".

"Um...what does this mean?"

"That is an card that officially authorizes you, under my command, to take control of other assets in the Front. Basically, simply show that card around at our people and they will be forced to follow you to assist in whatever way they can with your mission."

There was a beat of silence before everyone in the room started in shock.

"Huh? So you mean Otonashi can just wave that thing around and we're forced to follow him?"

"This is ridiculous, Yurippe, you can't expect me to follow orders from this weakling?"

Swing went that thing again.

"Yes, I expect you to. Think of it this way: following him means you're indirectly answering to me. Is that any more clearer to you?"

Some of the others in the room, like Hinata, Oyama and 5-dan nodded slowly, but the others like that Noda were still glaring daggers at me.

...at least I know now who I'm not gonna use this card on.

"Remember, success here will bring us one step closer to delivering a good punch to God's face. So I expect nothing less but the best." Yurippe's clear voice resounded forcefully around the room. It was enough to stifle the few remaining visible resistance as everyone in the room then nodded.

Yuri glanced at me again as she finally said, "Very well, dismissed."


	3. 02: Finding Leads

"So it wasn't something big after all."

"So hungry..."

"How troublesome."

I'd wanted to ask our leader about how exactly I would go about starting this investigation, but we were all ushered out of the briefing room before I could do so.

What exactly does Yuri do inside that room when she's left alone?

The group had swiftly disbanded, and I was already heading down to the cafeteria to grab a drink while thinking about what to do.

This interest in legends was to me, quite surprising in light of the Front's committed goal to fight God.

Do we really have time to be playing around with this world's "features"? Wouldn't our powers be used better if Yuri were to focus the Front's assets on things like say... offense?

Not that I would condone an all-out war with the NPCs here or anything.

Well, I guess I'll have to take Yuri's word at it for now.

I guess I should get going on that secret mission, who knows what terrible things she'd do to me if she caught me slacking off.

But first, I have to quench my thirst.

There was a strangely long line in front of the vending machines, almost prompting me to switch to another brand.

Following the rules of this world, I could've butted in line waving my gun around threateningly at the NPCs, and they wouldn't have batted an eyelash as I snuck away with my drink.

But if I did that, I'd be no better than those other idiots in the Front.

Hinata's smiling face popped out of nowhere in my mind. Damn that guy!

After finally getting the drink, I decided to head for the rooftop.

And no, it's not like I wanted to prove Hinata's theory. And besides, it wasn't lunchtime anymore, so the chance of meeting 'girl in sky' = 0.

As I stepped briefly into the corridor while I ascended the stairs, I caught a glimpse of some of the people in the Front on either side of the corridor.

Talk to the arguing couple  
Accost TK  
Talk to Chri- Takeyama  
Continue to rooftop  
Genuflect

Those things popped into my head for no reason as I watched them loiter across the corridor. Hinata and that tomboyish girl who's always following him around were having their usual (physical) argument down that way, TK was leaning on the window and doing butterfly strokes for some reason, and I caught a glimpse of Takeyama walking into a classroom.

And what was with that last option?

I decided to pick the fourth option, as I think now's not the time to get involved with anyone.

"Stop bickering in the hallways!"

I stopped climbing as soon as I heard that. Curious, I descended to try and peek around the corner.

Someone was scolding the troublesome couple, though from this angle I couldn't see much.

As I wasn't in the mood for a scolding myself, I quickly turned back the way I came and bounded the staircase by twos.

When I reached the door, I opened it just a bit slightly to see if anyone else was there.

Satisfied to find no one, I opened it all the way to head out into the empty rooftop.

The outside was unbearably hot, especially out here in the wide-open rooftop. At least there was a breeze flowing, allowing me to enjoy the view of the blue sky.

I headed for the railing, drink can in hand.

"Ow!"

The railing was HOT! I almost dropped the can in pain. I was an idiot not to have thought about it sooner, but I guess that's what you get when hanging around idiots.

The lazy breeze was able to soothe my lingering pain enough for me to finally open the can I had brought. A short hiss heralded my thirst-quenching gulps as I drank it all in.

Damn, it wasn't enough. As I swilled the few remaining drops in the can, I thought of my remaining thirst, and decided that it probably wasn't going to be good if I went down now - especially if anyone caught me heading in from the rooftop.

They (whoever they might be) might just force me to attend class or anything else Yuri warned us from-

CLANG!

This time, I did drop the can in surprise from the sound of the door opening, and as I turned my head quickly, I saw that it was an NPC standing in the doorway, staring sternly at me.

The can made even more metallic noises as it was rolled about on the floor by the breeze, and I struggled to ignore the impulse to pick it up as I locked eyes with the new arrival.

It was an NPC no doubt, judging from the uniform, but there was something else that struck me. There was something attached to her right sleeve, and after a thought, I read the lettering on it as "Disciplinary Committee." So she's an NPC from the disciplinary committee.

Wait, this school has something like that? This world has an amazing attention to detail.

The other thing I noticed about the girl, was the way she was actually noticeable, standing out from all the other NPCs in their drab and generic appearances. Her brown hair was bundled up in twin ponytails that weren't symmetric at all, one was to the side and the other...slightly off to the side. She was also carrying a cane of sorts, which she was now tapping the end of against her right hand in a threatening way.

Oh crap. True, I might be able to fight my way through an NPC, but that was something I didn't want to do unless I was in the worst of circumstances.

But on the other hand, I didn't want to face the punishment that was certainly being implied by those angry eyes, belonging to a cane-toting girl that was now moving closer to me.

I decided to play along.

"How do you do? This is a lovely day we are having isn't it?" I tried to smile as best I could, leaning my poor soon-to-be-burnt arms on the railing.

"Oh yes, it is indeed a lovely day."

I started at her voice. It seemed to be the same one I'd heard from below. Did she see me climb up after all? As I thought that, I sidestepped slightly from the rail, inching closer to the girl.

"A lovely day to go out and enjoy the sunshine!"

"What lovely sunshine!"

Man, she's an honest-to-goodness NPC, with the right responses so tailored in!

Unfortunately, it was also a weapon-toting NPC, so I had no time to enjoy my thoughts.

"First thing in the morning, I woke up and saw what a beautiful day it would be."

"What a beautiful day!"

We were already circling around, keeping our distances, as I sidestepped more and more to the door.

"I thought to myself, 'The only way to make this day even more beautful is to buy myself a can of my favorite drink'."

"What a nice thought!"

"And then, when I came to school, the day grew even-"

"Hey."

I stopped. I was about halfway to the door, the same as she. She pointed her weapon (a parasol?) at me threateningly when she stopped me. "There will be no more side-tracking. No more games. This. Ends. Now."

What the heck was with that type of speech? That usually preceded a final epic battle between bitter rivals.

"Come to think of it, what did I do wrong, Miss Girl from the Disciplinary Committee?" I said, trying to buy time.

"Wrong?" she seemed to hesitate as she tilted her head thoughtfully, lowering the weapon a notch. The sight was almost cute were it not for the current situation. "You are in the rooftop, and therefore are violating a rule. Plus, it's ultra-dangerous here."

"Ultra-dangerous? You mean people might be prone to...leaps of fancy or something?" Kind of useless in this world, but there you go.

"Worse than that," the girl replied grimly. "You see, sometimes when you're all alone, you hear a girl's voice-"

"Huh? Are you quoting the school legend?" I cut in.

She looked back at me, surprised. "Yes."

"Cut that out," I said exasperatedly. "It might be interesting to hear, but it's not exactly the type of story anybody wants to hear."

"Oh, are you such a scaredy cat?" she suddenly teased, her once pensive face lighting up in a grin.

"Scared of what? That story? It's not even scary!" But what a scary shift in personality!

"But the voice..."

"...is creepy, yeah, but it's a story set in noon, a time that's not creepy at all! In fact, quite honestly, it's just weird!"

"That's true..."

"And then..."I tried to inject a bit of my rationality here. God (if he really does exist here) knows I get a lot of over-the -top and normally impossible things happening right here, but the notion of the legends here being real were very much questionable.

And it would also deviate from the rules, if what Yuri said was true. By that, I mean: there would be legends, but they couldn't really exist, much like in the real weapons factory hundreds of feet below notwithstanding.

"They're just stories, mere stories..."

The girl's face had turned pensive again, looking even more cuter than before. I decided that now was a good time to make a run for it, but before I could move one step, the girl then spoke worriedly, "Then where did all those people go?"

"Huh?"

"Because," she said, her stern face now scrunched up in worry. The weapon had already been lowered to the ground in thought. "people have been reported missing, and no one knows where they went."

They're NPCs, no one should care...right?

"And the people that went missing, they were last seen going to the rooftop, at noon!"

A stronge breeze flew, making our clothes rustle fiercely. The girl wasn't meeting my eyes anymore, her parasol hanging limply to the side.

I was slightly taken aback at this, and it was enough to make me lose any more thoughts of escaping. As I digested what the girl had said, I recalled what Yuri said about my mission.

Hoax or not, this was a lead, and if I was able to discover what the mystery behind the disappearing acts was, I'd be able to accomplish my secret mission.

This would be a great starting point for me, on this secret mission #1...

And the first act would have to be: playing along with the NPC girl and her...probably misinformed thoughts.

Straightening myself, I said to the NPC girl in a voice that oozed interest, "Could you tell me more about it, Girl from the Disciplinary Committee?"


	4. 03: The Disciplinary Girl

As I followed the girl back down from the rooftop, I had a chance to observe her even more.

Boing.

She really stood out, physically, from the NPCs. There was just something...

Boing.

I really couldn't put a word to it, something different,

Boing.

And yes, her ponytails were making those weird sounds as they bounced along, trailing behind her.

Boing.

It made for some slightly amusing viewing as I followed her. Oh, so maybe that was the only thing different about her.

Everything about her uniform and her attitude back on the rooftop screamed "NPC" to me.

This is the room? I was really surprised, don't disciplinary committees have something bigger?

And aren't they usually crowded with people? Why, then, was there just a solitary coffee table at the center with only one chair to match, and a bunch of other stuff piled on a shelf to the side, the only other furniture in here?

"Welcome to the disciplinary committee office," she said offhandedly as she strolled to the shelf.

"Thank...you," I mumbled uncertainly. "Where...where are the other members? Are they out?" I asked.

Without looking at me, as she continued to look for something in the shelf, she replied quizzically, "What do you mean? There are no other members besides me."

"Huh?"

Was this girl serious? I mean, shouldn't the world cover all features of what a school should be, as Yuri said? They had their own student council (with a strange president on top), yet they only had one solitary disciplinary committee member? I wonder how effective she is at her job.

If that was the case, then this world's God's probably some sadistic guy who thinks a one-man disciplinary committee is in any way effective.

...Then again, the president herself was a one-man army, stopping the delinquents of the Front left and right. I shivered at the painful memory of our first meeting.

"Oh, here it is! I found it!" the NPC girl cried out excitedly. She delicately pulled a manila folder from the pile, and after straightening the wrinkles, handed it to me. "That's the list of reports about the disappearances."

The folder was labeled in front with a strange picture of a wing, (did she draw it herself?) and after opening it, I was amazed to see that there was indeed a large number of sheafs stuck in there. Each paper was uniform, asking (handwritten) questions that had (still handwritten) answers.

"I went down to all the classes whose students had disappeared, and they all had the same accounts to say. I then wrote them down in that paper."

By yourself? It must be tough, having to run around and write these stuff alone and what's worse, you're "investigating" something that's shady from the very beginning.

But then again, she was an NPC, programmed to do whatever she was set to do, and I could do nothing to change it. If I were to lay out the various ways by which these suspicious reports contradicted each other, she wouldn't even bat an eyelash.

And I still had a mission to do. So thinking, I sneaked off some of the more interesting reports from the folder into my breast pocket.

When next I looked up to give the folder back, the girl was already seated and pouring tea for herself. "Would you like to drink some?"

"Ah no," I declined, "I suddenly remember I have somewhere to be."

"But you just suddenly decided to accompany me to help, isn't that what you said? Shouldn't you suddenly sit here so we can discuss it?" Her eyes flashed over the rim of the cup, and I was taken aback at that.

She put the cup down daintily, while I tried to decide what to do. "And don't think I've forgotten your transgression either. As a disciplinary squad member, it's my duty to punish lawbreakers." She picked up her umbrella from before.

Shnickt! Oh crap, why the heck did she have a blade concealed behind those things! She tested the blade by swinging it a few times, before resheathing it and taking another sip. "Note that I am very particular about these kinds of things."

"Er. . . about that punishment. I wasn't really aware of the school rules at the time, so. . . "

"Not aware? How could you not be aware? I thought all students here knew that." Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. I must have swallowed a lot of spit at that moment, because I suddenly had a painful urge to cough it back out. "Is that . . . is that why you're not wearing the prescribed uniform?" She slowly unsheathed her weapon again.

I considered my options again. If I started running now, I could make enough of a head start, long enough to meet some other SSS member. I'd then flash Yuri's authorization at them, then we could deal with the girl, if she pursued.

But I didn't know her combat capabilities. What if, in her position as disciplinary head, she had the same powers as the student council president? Where one was a silent, petite juggernaut, this one was openly hostile, wielding a concealed weapon to boot. She might have concealed weapons in those weird ponytails!

It seems fate favored me that moment, because there was a sudden beeping sound. The girl frowned, then produced a cellphone from her pocket.

"Damn, another delinquent incident," said the girl. She stood up, bringing her weapon to bear at me. "You won't be getting off that easy. I'll be right back, mysterious student X!" She bolted for the door.

"Er. . . my name's Otonashi at the least. . . "

"Ah! I'll be locking this too! Don't think I'm stupid!" She slammed the door shut, and I could hear the sound of a lock being turned, and then her agitated footsteps receding in the distance. I sighed, looking towards my other exit.

Did I mention there was a window conveniently within reach? Conveniently unlocked at that. I let the warm breeze blow by me for a second before I jumped.

Damn it, this was the fourth floor.


	5. 04: Existence of Proof

It took a while to get the blood off. Thankfully, it hadn't seeped into my coat and into the papers I had secreted from the disciplinary committee.

Next stop would be to consult someone about my lead.

Any of the weapon-wielders in the Front were out, obviously. So that didn't include Shiina entering the gym over there.

Hinata? No, I didn't want to risk entering the school for today. I probably had to wait for the world's "reset", so that memories of the incident with the girl would be removed. I did not want another skilled (the jury's still out on the girl about that) weaponsmaster breathing down my neck every second of my Afterlife.

Did such a reset like that exist here? That knowledge would be frightening to reveal to the more belligerent members of the group, like the aforementioned weaponsmasters.

It looked like there was no one from the Front in sight to help me in my leads. Wait, what kind of leads. . . ?

I took out the papers. What kind of clues _could_ I get here? I just picked them out randomly since they looked the more interesting, and also looked less of a chore to read through, given the girl's apparently horrendous penmanship.

Let's see, "_Incident XII_", 12, obviously, so the twelvth incident. . ._ reports from Hanasaki about friend. . . disappeared at lunchtime. . . investigated. . . found nothing_. Hm. Why did I pick _this _up?

"Incident at Night", did this come before or after? _While investigating the reports from student council about rogue delinquents entering the gym_ (crap, was that us on that Guild run?) . . . and then some more words about her failure to discover them, and then. . . _student approached, reported incident . . .brought proof _. . . Proof? Proof about the legend? Unfortunately, it ended there. I then noticed a little slip of paper stuck to the side, and I peeled it off gingerly to read: _spent night pursuing claim. . . found nothing. . .saw some lights at distance, was quite- _Bah. I felt just a twinge of pity for the NPC doing its best to perform its duty, including forgoing sleep. turned to the next.

The next seemed to be chronogically after the previous, as it read "Report following the Incident at Night". _Spent some time reporting all I discovered to student council. . . _I wonder how that must have looked. . . _looked everywhere in room for the lost proof. . . could prove vital. . . must keep watch for rooftop at noontime. . . _There was the mention of that proof. This meant that it had unfortunately been lost somehow. But that makes me wonder about what type of proof could it have been? Was it related to the legend? . . . _it is my firm belief that the answer lies in there. . . _

The other papers all had the same content as Incident twelve's, so I was left with almost nothing but an indication that there had been a proof, and that NPC had been following it.

Had been pursuing it, even, with no indication of a memory loss. Did that mean her memories would still be there? I suddenly thought the earlier threat of having another weaponsmaster wanting to kill me had become very real.

Judging that returning to the girl to consult about her proof would be tantamount to suicidal, I instead made my way over to the headquarters. If Yuri was there, I could report my findings to her directly.

Feeling the ever-present breeze shift, I had cause to look up towards the rooftops. _. . . the answer lies there. . . _The disciplinary girl seemed to believe that the mystery could be solved should she come upon the place at the right time. That may have been why she'd been keen on getting up there during the now-past noontime. Instead she found me, not the apparition, and with no proof-

Suddenly, there was a faint twinkle of light that appeared above the rooftop. It was faint, almost making me think it was the light reflecting off the railing, instead of a shining apparition. But then. . . I checked the time. It wasn't exactly noontime, but it was still "some time" after noon. This could mean. . . probably, that-

I bit my lip. I don't know how investigators in life called it, but this seemed to be a break for me. At the first day of the investigation, I could find a way into the mystery. But then I remembered the girl.

What am I thinking. . . I'm a man! I'm supposed to take the manlier route, no matter how stupid it looks! And if I die, then I die with honor. I will die a hero's death. But no, I will not die.

On that matter, I couldn't. I just avoid it because it's painful as hell.

Pulling my sleeves up, I dashed into the building, filled with the heady feeling of invincibility and the courage that came with it. I wouldn't be stopped, even if the president decided to show up! For the Afterlife!

Thinking about the president cooled my head down though, as I inevitably slowed and started peeking nervously around corners in the corridors. I still remembered her blade in my chest. . .

"What are you doing back there, Otonashi! Playing hide-and-seek with someone?"


	6. 05: Otonashi's Lead 01

"Oh Hinata, it's good to see you," I said in a half-shout, running up to blue-haired guy in question. My breathing was a bit ragged after almost stopping altogether in half-fright after hearing his voice, imagining it to be Angel's. (and to a lesser extent, the disciplinary npc's)

He looked over my flushed, desperate face. "What's wrong? Did something. . . " He backed a few inches from me, "Uh. . . You know how you kept on asking if I was. . . ? Yeah I'm not- _really _not swinging my bat that way, and-"

I stared in confusion at him. What the heck was he talking about? Didn't he know he'd just become a convenient backup force for me? I recalled the strange light. That was my one lead!

I grabbed the side of his coat, urging him to run with me. I- we couldn't miss this chance, if only to fulfill Yuri's orders. Ignoring his strangely horrified exclamations and his efforts to get away, I pressed towards the roof.

"I don't have time to explain," I said in excitement to him. He made an awkward face. "Let's head to the rooftop, where I can show you what I mean. I'll show you my feelings aren't wrong. . . " I didn't stop to think about how obsessed I sounded. All I thought of at that moment was the lead, even if a small part of me still doubted it.

"W-w-well this is a really weird development for me, b-b-ut Otonashi, you have to know that I _really _can't help you on that regard, though I might know some other folks in the Front who're interested in that sort of thing. . . "

"Are you kidding? I have no time to get the others! You're the only one I need!"

"Well, I'm. . . flattered and all-"

"And besides, it won't do to gather the entire Front just for this. I can do it with them later," Certainly, if this lead anywhere, I would need whatever manpower Yuri granted me. I squeezed his coat in determination. He squeaked, quite unmanly for that. I looked inquisitively at him.

"S-s-so you're saying you're fine with just anybody? I'm just the more convenient one?" I almost thought I could feel some sort of resentment there. We were getting close to the rooftop door. I refocused on the goal.

"Don't be stupid. I don't know about the others, but out of the ones I know, you're the only one who's just right for me. Noda's a maniac, Matsushita 5-dan's a bit slow, and there's something I just don't get about Takamatsu. And I don't even want to go on about TK or Takeyama. You're the only one, well. . . " I glanced bemusedly at him, "You're the only guy I can probably trust with this."

"Otonashi. . . " I was glad that he finally got it, even though I had to explain a whole lot along the way. He was staring kind of strangely at me, "I. . . "

"We're here," I realized loudly, pushing open the door with a loud clang. I let go of Hinata at that moment, unholstering and cocking my Front-issued gun in the next. I scanned the empty rooftop for anything suspicious.

"Wait, so this isn't. . . so is this a training test of sorts? You want to test. . . your gun?"

"What?. . . " I said distractedly, looking up at the noontime sky. Nope, no weird light. I felt my heart start sinking to my stomach. Had I been too late or had that just been a fluke?

"Because you really shouldn't mess with other people like that." There was an angry hint in his tone now, and I raised an eyebrow at him. "What are you talking about?"

He started chuckling to himself. "I get it, those words were all just a ploy to get me up here, and then. . . Alright, I getcha man. Let's train as hard as we can up here, where no one else is. Let there be blood!" He cocked his own gun, pointing it at me.

"What the heck's wrong with you, Hinata?" I raised my hands up.

"What? I thought you brought me up here for training?"

"Training? What made you think that? I wanted help with my investigation, and you were conveniently the closest backup I would get – in case we ever met Angel or something." I explained to him.

"Investigation? Is this about the school legend thing?" He looked around the rooftop, his eyes suddenly lighting up in realization. "Oh damn, I should've known, after this morning's briefing. . . " He lowered his weapon, shaking his head in silent reproach.

"What did you think it was?" I narrowed my eyes, thinking back to his words. "That I'd want to train killing with you? I'm not as barbaric as the rest."

"It's. . . nothing." He sighed again, looking at me in amusement "I just. . . well I guess you could say I misinterpreted what you said earlier a bit." He added in an undertone, ". . .and I was just wondering if I'd be catching or pitching. . . "

I cocked my head, wanting to know what the heck I'd said that he misinterpreted, when Hinata switched to a more business-like tone, continuing, "So anyway, what did you draw the gun for then? Did you expect trouble up here?" He took another sweep of the empty rooftop.

"Yeah, I got some clues about it. It was very convenient for me. But I think I was just led on by that hunch here. It looks like there's nothing. . . " I trailed off.

"Nothing? Well, it's just a school legend after all, man. I'm wondering what Yuri's really thinking assigning something like this. There's no real benefit to the Front in the long run, in my opinion."

"There's nothing. . . strange alright," I walked up to what I'd seen. It was something shining on the roof surface, and initially I thought it was a coin of sorts. But when I got closer, what I saw on the ground was. . .

A feather.


	7. 06: Otonashi's Lead 02

I held it out to him.

"What's that supposed to-" He gave a low hoot upon seeing what it was. "Is that a. . .feather?"

I nodded silently, looking every which way along the floor for anymore. But no, it seemed that this feather was the only one here. But at the moment, this feather was more than enough.

I looked at it more closely after putting away my gun. Many thoughts passed through my mind just then.

Now let's look at things logically. So I'm supposed to investigate one of these so-called school legends about a girl . . . with wings appearing on the rooftop. Now wings connotate a lot of things. It would not be right to assume directly that it was an angel. Perhaps it was a devil with its own version of wings. Perhaps the latter indicated a "devil" against the Angel here (I shivered at the thought of her). But with this feather. . .

Hinata seemed to have followed my thread of thought as he wondered out loud: "A feather huh. . . .you know at first I was suspicious but now that I think about it, I've never seen any type of bird around here in the afterlife. Not a one." He turned to me, waggling his eyebrows. "Do you think it came from a wing? Possibly from a. . . winged person?"

I chopped him lightly on the head. "You have time to joke about things like that? I've just now turned up something related to my investigation here," I told him irritantly.

"Wha- whoa, you're really getting into this investigation here huh, Otonashi?" Hinata grinned. "So where next inspector?" he joked in a gruff voice.

"You know usually it's a female sidekick who accompanies the intrepid investigator," I joined his jabbing.

"Oh good point, good point," he agreed good-naturedly. "You think you'll mind if I get Yui to play the part? She can be the dumb do-it-all sidekick." He sounded a bit exasperated after mentioning her.

"Doesn't she have her mission in the GirDeMo? I'm not sure I can impose. . . "

"Or I could get Shiina! Bodyguard and all that, plus she's great for shooting one-liner quips at the right time?" We both had a good laugh at that.

But just then, something happened.

There was the sound of bounding footsteps from the open roof door.

It was pounding on the stairwell.

I wouldn't have been scared, if it weren't for the fact that-

"If I find that bastard again, I'm gonna toss him out the roof!"

It was the faint, far-off but steadily approaching voice of the disciplinary npc. Oh crap.

"Hinata, we gotta go!"

"Go?" He was surprised by my sudden shft in demeanor.

"It's. . . you hear that?" I pointed towards the door.

"You mean that girl's voice? Come to think of it, her voice sounds familiar. . . "

"Yeah, and we have to not be seen!" I urged him, tugging at his shirt again.

"Huh, why? It's just an NPC, man. They can't do anything, well Angel might do something. Wait, is it that girl? I think it is." He listened intently. "Yep, I gotta thank that one for getting Yui to shut up before. You know, for an npc she sure is active about her role. It's really impressive."

"That. Is. Why. We have to hide somewhere. She's VERY particular about her job, to the point where she's already threatened me." I pulled on his shirt.

"Relax man. How will she be able to toss you over the roof? You're a guy for pete's sake. Besides, where the heck are we supposed to hide here, huh?" He gestured around the rooftop. True, there was no obvious hiding place in sight. Which definitely left. . .

The footsteps were fast approaching. I'd guess she was at most two floors below. Just a few more flights and she'd be on me like a frenzied shark scenting blood in the water.

I'm still hoping she hasn't realized I'd stolen some of her case files.

"I know you stole something from my case files-!" the roar sounded like something from the abyss.

Stupid thoughts thinking too soon! Or was that just my imagination? I grabbed at Hinata's hand and quickly dragged him over to the railing. "C'mon Otonashi, it's not like an NPC can hurt us. Worst comes to worst we get dragged to 'detention' or something-"

"We can't risk that!" I said, looking over the railing at the sight of the grounds far below. Would we make a splendid impact down there, I wondered. "What if it's another way to move on- it is like following the rules."

"So what do you suggest we do?" Hinata was weakly struggling in my grasp. Suddenly, he looked over the edge of the rooftop too. "Wait, are you seriously thinking what I think you're thinking right now?"

I looked at him seriously. "It's the only way," I declared. I clutched the feather, and by extension, his hand, tighter. A perplexed feeling came over him. "And it's not like you haven't felt this kind of death right?"

"No no, that's not the issue I'm having here!" Hinata protested. "Y'know, if you're that anxious to die again, I could just stay here and delay-"

I looked back to the door. Any second now. I looked back at him. "I'm going." Mentally preparing myself, I jumped.

"Whyareyoustillholdingmyhand-" he shouted as I dragged him with me in my emergency descent, "-Otonashi, you idiooooooooooot!~"

I'm really sorry, Hinata. At least we die together. I closed my eyes, preparing for the moment of impact, pain and darkness.


	8. 07: The Beginnings

Though none of the mentioned ever came.

True, there was impact. I heard Hinata make a muffled "umph!" as our bodies crashed mightily on the ground, pulled by the forces of physics that made up this world.

But I'd already prepared myself for another death.

. . . Which made it weird when it never came.

"Huh?" I opened my eyes. I looked beside me, seeing Hinata having similarly closed his eyes and clutching my hand so hard it nearly hurt. I looked down at the ground, and sure enough, there was our feet firmly placed on the grass. "What's going on?"

"What are you- wha?" Hinata made a similar exclamation of surprise when he too opened his eyes. I painfully extracted my hand from his grasp as I tried walking to test my legs. "Whoa, what the hell's going on here?"

"I don't know," I replied with wonder. Nothing. No resultant pain, lingering blood or displaced body parts. It was as if an invincibility code had been entered into our bodies making us able to survive falling down eight stories without a scratch.

Perhaps the world had been rewired or rewritten at that very moment? I pulled out my gun and hastily cocked it.

Hinata looked over and asked, his face disbelieving, ". . . And what are you doing now?"

I mentally prepared myself for death again, and pointed the gun on my own chest.

The bullet discharged with an angry bang. I didn't doubt that many people heard its blast echo ringing into the quiet afternoon air. And that included me, who stared down disbelievingly into the barrel of my still-smoking gun..

"Wow, bizarre." I placed my hand on where the wound should have been. The bullet was there, only that it didn't penetrate the skin, heck, it didn't even penetrate my clothes. I held up the spent slag to my eyes.

"What's going on? Did they suddenly turn on the invincibility switch in this world?" Hinata leaned in, as dumbfounded as I was.

"Try it, Hinata." I urged. Looking around, there didn't seem anything wrong or different with the world. "We need to know what the heck this means."

"Mrr, if you say so," he grudgingly allowed, pulling out his own gun. He looked over at me and smiled in a half-hearted attempt to look cool. "Don't think too badly of me now, y'hear?"

"Just shoot yourself already," I brushed him off a little coldly.

"That hurt! Meanie. Well here goes," he pulled the trigger, and then a red flower blossomed on his shirt.

"Hinata!" Oh my god, I just had my friend kill myself! What the hell was I thinking, making him kill himself? Too late, his lifeless body crumpled to the ground, his gun clattering onto the grass.

I hesitated from rushing to his side. Puzzled, I looked at my own gun, then catching a glimpse of the feather I clutched in my other hand. A seed of doubt started to form in my mind as I extracted the feather from my sweaty palm and held it up at arms' length. I focused my eyes on the feather as I put the gun to my head.

"Ow!" After discharging, the bullet spanged harmlessly against my forehead, but didn't penetrate. It really hurt, though, as like a paint-ball fired from close-range. It gave me a slight, ringing headache for a while. It was then that an idea, so outrageous but supported by the facts, lit up in my mind at that moment.

"Hinata," I squeaked excitedly before stopping. Oh yeah, he's still dead. I'll just talk to myself then."This feather. . . is a powerful item! This is. . . the Angel's feather!"

"What the fuck're ya doing, huh?" A brazen, uncouth voice called out from my back.

* * *

Author's Note: It's here~~~ And it's good! To any of you who're tracking me like stalkers, I'm still in the process of finishing _Rewrite_, the latest visual novel from Key. There's some stuff from there I can add to this story too, it just fits! Anyway, next upload won't be for a while, still gonna wrap up all of the game's sidequests and friend-collecting.

Merlin Out.


	9. 08: First Bouts

One of the Front's most dangerous idiots stood behind me. He wasted no time bringing his weapon to bear, his favorite halberd.

"What's this now, you're shooting fellow members? Traitor scum." Even if he was an idiot, I had to take those killer vibes seriously. He looked from me to Hinata's body, then back to me.

"No no," I tried placating him. "We were doing an experiment, just a little test for my investigation," I suddenly remembered. I showed him Yuri's authorization card from my pocket.

"Hah, like that's gonna save you," He sank into a fighting stance. "But that won't stop me from killing you again. For reals, this time."

Damnit, I really didn't have time to play around just when I was on the verge of something in my investigation. And Hinata was still dead; that guy was one of the only ones who could placate idiots like him.

But I continued to try to calm him down anyway. "Hey, you saying you'll be ignoring a directive from Yurippe? You're a traitor now."

"Not when I kill the traitor first."

"She won't see it that way," I challenged. "I've been authorized by Yurippe. 'Mad Dog Noda finally reveals his true self'. That's gonna be the headline for all the Front members, once they've issued a manhunt for you."

"Let them come! Hah, I can beat all of them!" No, that wasn't really what I was getting at.

"And besides," He'd lost all pompous demeanor. He twirled his weapon in preparation. I got the feeling of a tiger that was about to pounce. "This is my chance to prove myself to Yurippe."

Guh, this is why I don't like these kinds of people on the Front. It seemed like there was a gradient somewhere going from brawn to brain. I knew Yuri stood at the center, having equal parts of both. Most of the others fell towards "killer idiocy".

Wait, wasn't this a good chance to test out my new theory? I remember it termed as the "science method" or something. I didn't have the luxury of remembrance as the tiger was about to pounce. I just knew I had to meet his challenge head-on.

"Fine, I'll accept that challenge. I'll get you to back down using only my sheer will." I cocked the gun in my hand.

"Pathetic. You won't even be able to use that useless thing. Cause I'll be slicing your hands first!" He attacked, swinging his weapon close to strike. He was aiming for my hands, as he'd broadcasted.

Boy was he fast. I barely had enough time to bring out my arm to block his blade.

Now normally, an attack like that would really amputate me. Afterlife though it was, we still somehow had bodies that could walk around, living, eating, breathing, and feeling pain. And that was why I was determined to see if my new discovery could thwart the rules here.

"Im-impossible!" I felt an impact on my hand, and it stung, but they weren't severed. I looked past his halberd at his befuddled face. It twisted into a cold grimace as he disengaged the weapon and swung from another angle, at a speed I still couldn't catch.

Whump! God, that still really hurt; I think he hit my kidneys or something. But I bore the pain, grinning fearlessly into his shocked face. "Hah, that all you got?"

As expected of a fighter, Noda withdrew, his eyes narrowed calculatingly as he considered me. I'm betting I know what's going on through his head.

_a. I slashed him before._

_b. Now I can't cut him._

_c. ?_

_d. You didn't cut hard enough._

_e I did._

_f. Now I can't cut him._

_g. But I slashed him before._

_h. ?_

_i. Now I can't cut him._

_J. But I did hit him before._

"Is it my turn now?" I cracked the wrist he'd hit. It smarted, but a giddy feeling inside made me forget the pain. This must be what a scientist would feel if he discovered a cure for cancer. I walked closer to him.

"Haaah!" He began attacking again, with a flurry of strikes targetted at other parts of my body. One almost made me fall to my feet, but I kept going.

He must've been to dumbfounded by my newfound invincibility as he didn't move further away. I casually caught his halberd by the blade, and it was like catching a practice sword in my hand.

"Give it up," I declared. "Your foolishness has made me reveal my power."

"Impossible. . ." He looked like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. _I_ couldn't believe it. "There's no way a power like that could exist. . ."

"But it does," I felt the blade dig into my palm. I let it attempt to cut the skin, but it was like my skin had turned into stone. "You've made a terrible mistake, Noda-_kun."_

"Hmph!" As expected of a fighter, he never gives up. He'd thrust his empty hand into my gut. I expect he thought it would make me buckle (which it almost did).

"Witness my true power," I continued to ham it up, "This Special Investigator who never gives up. Stone Body!" Saying that, I counterattacked, pistol-whipping him in the face.

Uttering a pained grunt, he crumpled to the ground, his weapon clanging uselessly at his side. I towered over him victoriously. My spirits lifted to the highest heavens – not at the victory, but at my vindication. I looked at the tiny, white feather on my hand. Would this be the thing Yurippe hoped to find?

With both members of the Front still down, I turned towards the administrative building. I had to report this to Yuri asap! I thrust the feather into my breast pocket.

I glanced at the two, one obviously still dead, swimming in a pool of red and the other stunned by his defeat, twitching on the ground. "Hinata, good work." I paused. "And I supposed I should thank Noda too, he validated my theory. . . "

I started running. But before I could a few more yards, I felt a shiver run up my spine as I heard quiet voice speak in my ear, "Interesting, boy. I shall test my blade against yours!"

I had the sensation of falling, wheeling through the air and watching the cloudy sky overhead, before dropping and watching my own headless body plop to the ground. And then, darkness.

* * *

Author's Note: Typed this up in a daze after finishing the Sizuru route. A lot of inspiration for having Noda here and not Fujimaki was because Noda really reminded me of Yoshino, the protagonist's comedic foil in _Rewrite. _The way they both go on challenging our main guy to bouts, repeatedly, without giving a damn if they sound or look idiotic or not. Admittedly, Yoshino's gone far above mere Sunohara idiocy (_Clannad_) or Masato single-mindeness (_Little Busters!)_ and is a different type of foil altogether. To know that, one would have to play the game ^_^

Merlin Out.


	10. 09: Guillotine Masquerade

The first thing I felt was pain. A burning, throbbing pain down below. I didn't know where below was, in the darkness there was no up, down, no left or right.

". . . okay . . . investig- . . . Hey. . . coming to!- . . . "

Then I heard a clamor of sound, as if silence had been my entire world all this time. It burst in on my hearing, assaulting my groggy mind with all sorts of sensations.

"Really did it this time. . . crap, she's . . . stop . . . oh, there she goes again. . . "

A stream of light filtered past the dark, pushing away the ebbing tides of unconsiousness. I was finally aware of more sensations, though the pain continued to persist. I clenched a fist I forgot I had. I opened my eyes.

_Beep! Bleep!_

The first thing I saw was a guy's face. Hinata, I recognized him, almost immediately. I squinted against the blinding light. The guy's expression broke into a satisfied grin, mouthing something I couldn't understand, before his face disappeared. I surrendered myself to the pains that wracked my body. I closed my eyes.

When next they opened, I found myself staring into a pair of pupils, cerulean, holding in them a cold necessity but enclosing a matronly warmth that felt reassuring. I opened my mouth and found them welded shut by layers of dried spit. It tasted unpleasant, though I managed to let out a weak sound. It bordered on a pained, pathetic groan.

"Ssh, you don't have to talk. Just rest, for now," that person said briskly. The face disappeared again, but now I felt strong enough to resist the pull to close my eyes and began to move my body. My neck muscles screamed at me as they strained and stretched, until I was finally able to raise my head and look around the room.

_Beep! Bleep! _There were wires running from the top of my head to a strange machine on the bedside. Looking past that, I realized that I was in the world's school infirmary. A bunch of people in Front uniforms were huddled around something a few beds away. I caught a glimpse of Yuri walking towards the group and the latter standing at attention before I looked away.

"Nice to see you finally up, Otonashi," Hinata grinned from the other side, his gunshot wound absent and body whole.

"Hinata, are you alright?" were the first words I managed to croak out after a shocked silence.

"Hey, are you sure those're the first words you should be asking?" he said bemusedly. "I mean, how kind of a guy are you? You're the one with the more critical injuries here. I survived with barely a scratch."

"Critical injuries?" I wondered.

"Yeah," he peered at me. "When I came to from that 'trial' of yours, the first thing I saw was a bloodbath," he murmured. "And you were at the center of it. All those hacked pieces. . . "

I gulped. I didn't know I'd ended up in such a state. But still, I still hadn't the faintest idea what had happened to me. I echoed that last thought out loud. Hinata glanced at the other bed uncomfortably, before nodding. "Most unnerving scene I ever saw in this world, man. I think it was the most unnerving thing in my entire existence even. I swear, I could be having nightmares from now on. . . " At this point, Hinata broke down into shivers that sent the same sensations rushing up my spine.

"Oh, don't be so melodramatic, you wuss," came Yuri's voice from near me. I nearly jumped from the covers. Yuri scrutinized me closely, as if I were a terminally ill patient. Well, in a way I was. "You were able to talk; that means your voicebox is fine. After that," she placed a hand on my right cheek and turned my head toward the left. My skin sizzled from her cold fingers. I let out a sigh when she withdrew her hand. "Didn't feel any pain? " she asked. I shook my head. "I forgot to ask: how about when you talk, do you feel any pain?" I shook my head again. She took in a deep breath. "So your neck muscles have been regenerated fully, and the nerves have been reconnected without a hitch. That's the most important thing," she emphasized, nodding to herself. "I guess we can remove this now." She plucked the wires that were attached to my scalp.

"Um, if I could ask," I ventured. She pressed some buttons on the machine before nodding at Hinata, who quickly stood and walked away. "What exactly happened. . . ?"

She went over to sit down where Hinata had and crossed her arms somberly. She considered me with those cold, warm eyes for a long moment. She lowered her gaze to the ground then back to me again. "You were beheaded," she said bluntly.

I gulped, feeling a surge of dread rising through my stomach. It was almost like feeling Angel's blade in my chest, though with a much greater fear. It was instinctual, what any man should feel were he normal, were he still _living._

"Yes, that's what happened." she repeated, staring at me. I didn't know what she must be seeing in my face, as roiling emotions of shock, incredulousness and denial showed on it in succession. She waited patiently, while I grasped unconsciously at the place where I thought my neck had been severed. I felt no marks or scars, thank God. I wouldn't know what I would do if there had been marks to remind me of my latest fate. I hadn't even remembered my mortal end.

"Hah. . ." I chuckled weakly. "Such an outrageous thing. . . "

"Well, I'm glad you're okay enough to be able to process that."

I glanced over at the other bed, it had had a screen drawn over it, with some of the other regular members leaving the room while the others stayed to loiter, that halberd-using idiot included. I didn't particularly like the way he kept polishing his blade while looking at me. I glared at him before looking turning away. I dimly remembered humiliating the self-proclaimed strongman.

"So how'd this happen?" Yuri asked after a long, pregnant pause.

"How should I know?" I replied. "I don't even know what killed me back then."

"It's a blue moon if Shiina decides to just attack fellow allies without provocation." Yuri looked past me to the other bed, and as I followed it, a realization then hit me.

"That was Shiina? . . . But why did she attack me? I don't remember challenging her to a fight to the death. For that matter," I pointed to the screened bed. "Is she the one lying there?"

"Yes, she's suffered some injuries too."

"But, why?" I didn't understand the situation at all. So Shiina was the one who attacked me, but she ended up getting injured anyway?

"As to why she attacked you, that remains a mystery. Shiina never told us what possessed her to do that, because she. . . " she gestured to the bed again. I cocked my head in confusion, _she what? _

"Um, who was the one who injured her then?" It was hard to imagine anyone or anything being able to injure the untouchable ninja, save for Angel, and I know the latter doesn't just attack without provocation herself. Except for our first meeting. . .

"Let me just start from the beginning, as far as I know, and as far as Hinata-kun and Noda-kun has reported to me. When Hinata-kun recovered from being shot – I won't ask why, since he seemed fine with it – he saw-"

A bloodbath, as I recalled Hinata saying. A literal bloodbath with me at the center. And it seemed Shiina had been there too, but I was missing something. Then who attacked Shiina? Was it another enemy that the Front hadn't been aware of? Was it that weird disciplinary girl?

Come to think of it, I'd totally forgotten about that NPC. I wonder if she still has a grudge. . .

"- And then, after carrying you back here, they called the rest of the Front, but then Shiina started to say something, her sword had been drawn as if for battle. In the next moment she was down on the ground, and blood was spouting all over the place."

"Huh?" As my mind was still in a daze, it took a while to fully comprehend that. Shiina . . . committed suicide?

Yuri nodded dourly, then crossed her legs in front of her. I waited for her to continue, but Hinata's voice was the one who rejoined, from my other side. It was like they had just switched places from before.

"Yeah, that was really crazy. You should see what the corridor outside is like, all that blood. . . That's what the others are cleaning up right now."

"Why aren't you cleaning it?"

"Oh, we drew lots." What a jolly way to clean up a tragic scene, you. "Well, I did clean up that mess back there," he answered my accusing stare hastily. "Anyway, Shiina spouted stuff about being shamed, and being reckless and foolish, you know how she is, and the next thing we knew, we got another bloody scene."

I always figured that Shiina took things way seriously, from the way she acted in the aftermath of the Guild Operation to that baseball game. But to go the lengths of suicide?

"Well she did recover quickly. By the time she came to, the rest of the guys had come back here and we'd brought Yuri up to date." The two shared a look. "Well, she came to, but then she took one look at your recovering body and dashed outside. She committed seppukku again, unbelievable." Hinata shook her head wryly, and Yuri's expression remained neutral, only gazing at me.

"She threatened to do it again on the fourth time she recovered-" Fourth time? She killed herself that many times? "-but Yuri talked her out of it, saying her behavior would shame the Front. She calmed down, but we would advise you not to let her do it again were she to face you. I have a hunch she's gonna do it again when she apologizes."

"Apologizes?" I asked.

". . . to you! You're the one whom she attacked. Geez, have you got your head screwed in tight yet?"

I let the situation sink in. It was admittedly too much to take in after waking up from another death. Though questions flitted in from my mind, buzzing inside it like flies. It was like my mind was trying to tell me something. Why did Shiina attack me in the first place?

Unconsciously, my hand dipped into my breast pocket. Puzzled, I looked down when I touched something soft. I stared at Hinata, a memory finally dawning in on me, as I pulled out for both of them to see, the feather.


	11. 10: Rebond

"It's a big hit," Hinata remarked while staring at the feather in my palm.

"What are you talking about?" I asked him, to which he shrugged in reply.

"So, what's with the feather?" Yuri inquired. Right, this was the perfect time for reporting the results of my investigation to my leader. I was somewhat proud of myself, I'd produced results within a day of Yuri giving me the mission.

"While I was performing the task you set of me, Yuri, I managed to discover this," I hesitated to hand the feather over to her, but something in her demeanor made me give it up, much like a child who'd discovered something he wanted to show to her mother.

Yuri turned over the little white thing in her hands, feeling its smooth texture. "What is this then? Is it related to a school legend?"

"Not really," I explained the steps I had undertaken in the investigation, careful to leave out the vengeful NPC. When I came to my encounter with Noda, I looked over at him, but he seemed to be drawing something on the floor with the handle of his weapon. I hope he didn't have enhanced hearing, I don't know what he'd do when he realizes how I managed to beat him.

Yuri was composed throughout my report, neither excited nor indifferent to my revelations. By the time I'd concluded, she'd nodded in a satisfied manner. "The first step I should take as leader is to send this over to Guild for analysis, but. . . " Yuri commented in a low voice before handing the feather back to me, "There are still some unknowns here which we don't know. And for this we must proceed with caution Such an abnormality in this world cannot be unheard of, but it is an anomaly nonetheless. Please hold on to the feather for now. And now we also know why Shiina attacked you out of the blue."

I'd already figured out that part as soon as I remembered the mystery of the feather. It wasn't too farfetched to assume that Shiina had been in the scene when she'd heard Hinata shoot himself, watching from a distance while I tangled with Noda, where I showed myself to be mysteriously invincible. But hold on, why had she managed to behead me then?

"It's probably because of its properties. I have an assumption," she pointed at my chest. "You mentioned putting away the feather. I believe that it only bestows its mysterious powers on whoever holds it. In other words, skin contact seems to be key."

"So it only works when I hold it," I echoed. She nodded. If I'd held on to it when Shiina attacked me, "Stone Body" would still have been in effect, and I wouldn't have been decapitated. And that had definitely been the case in our not-so-fatal fall from the rooftop and my battle with Noda; I'd been carrying the feather in my hand. Beside me, Hinata crossed his arms in thought. "It's maybe also shareable. Don't you remember Otonashi? I survived that fall when we-" Here, Hinata flushed for some reason before continuing, "it seems it can be transmitted through skin contact." Ah, I remember. Hinata did survive when I held his hand, because I held his hand.

"It's a strange thing, sure," he observed, before addressing Yuri across the bed. "but why is it an anomaly, Yurippe? I figure it's as much a part of this afterlife as- well the other stuff."

"I'm not sure." She shook her head emphatically, waving purple strands out of her face. "But I have a feeling it is. Death is simulated here; death is mocked, cheated, but never prevented. There are elements that are extraordinary: Angel, Guild, the NPCs. . . and this feather. But If I were God and I had willed this feather to existence, its powers would have been entirely different." No, why would you be God in the first place? "At least, that's what I think at this point." True, I found the feather to go beyond what I've just experienced in this so-called Afterlife.

"At any rate, we should use the advantage this feather has brought us," she had adopted the crisp, business-like tone she reserved for mission briefings. "I'll have Guild analyze it, and with luck, they might find some way to replicate its properties. If we manage that, we'll have gained a weapon against God and his Angel." As expected of Yuri, always thinking one step ahead.

She suddenly looked like she'd aged in the last few sentences. Yuri always seemed so serious, more than anyone in the Front. "If this had been intended, then it means God. . . . " She closed her eyes, meditating on something. Hinata and I looked at each other. "But if this were an anomaly, then this world wouldn't stand for it. I wonder how soon it'll be before we find out which is which. . . "

"Um, you say 'this world'. . . are you saying the afterlife is a world?"

"That's what I think, and what most of the brainiacs at Guild think, too. I don't delve too much into theoretics, but we can assume this place is just another world, a closed simulation of a world, if you think of it that way, a space where reality is duplicated as a bare skeleton. It's different from the 'world of the living' or the 'world of reality' we all came from, in that those were different worlds, but worlds in any case, and so maybe _this _is just another world, created by a God who had too much time in his hands. I'm not even sure if this is _the_ afterlife. . . because if it were, there'd be a lot more going on in here than a simulacrum of a school. Unless God is really that much of a-"

She paused, allowing me to wrap my mind helplessly around what I'd heard. I admit, much of the theoretical stuff was beyond me, but it was still something to consider. Especially when I thought about what bearing her thoughts had on the feather.

"Ah, s-s-sorry, those were just some idle thoughts. I don't know why I spoke them up loud," she coughed and cleared her throat in the next instant, holding her hand to her mouth. "Assumptions are fine, but we shouldn't let it cloud the situation in front of us."

We both nodded to our leader's words. She turned to me. "Otonashi-kun, you've done well, but we both know there's still something missing. As such, your investigating continues, and now I give you leave to assign people to assist you." At this, Hinata broke into a grin. "The discovery of this feather has certainly piqued our interests into the school legends. As soon as you recover, please investigate the rumors surrounding the other legends. Who knows what other anomalies we'll find. Keep it discreet, we wouldn't want Angel's -and by extension God's- attention this early on." Hinata gave a mock-salute, twitching Yuri's eyebrows for a tick, before she nodded to the both of us and strode off. The remaining members stood at attention, and we both watched as she slipped through the screens surrounding Shiina.

"Things are getting heated up, eh?" Hinata proclaimed, rubbing his hands together. "But even with just this feather, we've already achieved leverage over that Angel."

"Hold on, aren't you the least bit curious about the legends?" I wondered why he didn't take Yuri's comments as seriously as I had. Wasn't the Front created to learn the true nature of this afterlife? Suppose there were a lot more things going on in the legends, that was seriously something that would help us solve the true nature of this world!

"As long as it gives us something even more useful than that feather. 'Focus on what we have,' as Yurippe said. Let's just focus on getting more of them in your investigation. Speaking of which, Otonashi!" He clapped me on the shoulder. "I would gladly volunteer to be your companion! Between the both of us, nothing can take us down!"

Well, I had planned on taking him in any case, even going as far as to use the card to force him if he didn't want to. Hinata was by and far the only guy I could stand level to in this world, and although he was a bit of an idiot like everyone else, he fell on the "smart" spectrum.

"OK! 'Stone Body' Otonashi and Hinata! Launching!" I said.

"Heh. . . it's not like we're mechs on our maiden flight going into battle or anything. . ."

"Well, just trying to set the mood. . . " I remarked, putting the feather away. Yuri is depending on me to solve these mysteries, and I wouldn't let her down.

_I'm gonna get you!_

I took an instinctive gulp when I remembered a certain vengeful NPC.

"Otonashi, are you okay? Feeling dizzy?"

"No. . . just remembered an insurmountable enemy . . ." I hid my tired grin behind my palms.

"You're right. . . we have to do our mission in broad daylight while Angel's about-"


	12. Bad End for now at least

Hi guys, it's Vivian. Long time no see to some readers, I guess, and to Merlin's readers - hello.

I promised myself and that we wouldn't be seeing each other again, owing to some failures on the part of the readerbase (or on me) but due to my obligation to Merlin, I'm here writing this message now.

For those expecting some updates to his stories, I'm afraid to say that won't be possible for the next month or so, because of a traumatic incident which Merlin was just recently involved in over a week ago. As he may have indicated (or not), Merlin's kinda...special, and witnessing two instances of death two times in less than the span of a year was bad - very bad for him. It was lucky that this time it wasn't anyone particularly close; I don't know if it'd have been worse should a close friend of his have been the one.

We are doing our best to support him in this tough time as he "recovers himself". Until then, we thank you all for your patience, and for being the few who actively care for what he produces. Truly, we thank you.


End file.
